This Heart of Mine
by tuk-0
Summary: "Santana nodded, mostly to herself, as she watched Brittany leave the store. Boy was she in trouble." AU college!Brittana.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a story I thought up for Valentine's Day! I will continue it if there seems to be some interest in it. I'm still working on _Butterflies_ and will try to complete that story before posting a 2nd chapter of this one. **

**Hope you enjoy! :)**

* * *

Santana couldn't help the scowl on her face as she approached the on-campus FedEx store. She had honestly been trying to stop scowling—her mother always said it was unbecoming of a woman—but it was simply too hard not to, especially with all these idiotic people and things ruining her day.

This morning had been particularly awful. Santana had woken up to her roommate's alarm, which was set for 2 hours before Santana needed to be awake. After a futile attempt at falling back asleep, Santana grunted, threw her covers off of her, and pushed herself off of her bed. Only instead of landing on her stool like she did every other morning, she tumbled directly to the ground, almost falling. By this point, the scowl had made a home on her face, and things didn't get any better. Her hair dryer wouldn't turn on and the last bit of her eyeliner broke off and fell out of the tube. Santana had looked at the ceiling and released an annoyed grunt before deciding to leave her room so that nothing worse could happened.

Santana entered the FedEx, happy to be back inside a warm building. She didn't even mind that the place was filled with dreadful heart decorations and paper Cupid's shooting paper arrows. She seriously hated this holiday. Santana looked around for an attendant as she pocketed her gloves. She needed to fax some papers to her mother. She wasn't even sure what these papers were, but they were from the university. She figured they had something to do with graduation. The attendant—Louis, his nametag said—seemed nice, if not a bit timid, but that wasn't surprising; Santana's scowl had been known to scare people. Louis showed Santana to a fax machine and explained how it worked. He even wished Santana a happy Valentine's Day before he walked away. Santana thanked him and tried to smile, but it probably came out awkward and pained-looking. It was hard to smile when you couldn't stop scowling. But whatever; she'd probably never see Louis again.

Santana let out a deep sigh as she started to load the first sheet of paper into the fax paper. Before she could punch in her mom's fax number, she was distracted by a loud noise and the sound of someone cursing. Santana looked to her side to see what all the commotion was about. Sure enough there was a girl, a pretty blond girl with hair falling around her face, whisper-yelling curse words at a copier.

Santana tried not to laugh, but she couldn't help it. It was refreshing to see somebody having just as bad a morning as she was; she felt a kind of solidarity with this girl. Plus there was also something really cute about this scene, even though the girl was clearly upset.

Santana looked around for a free attendant as the machine continued to make strange sounds. Wasn't it their job to help with problems like this? As she completed her quick scan of the store, Santana realized that all of the attendants were busy helping other customers. She turned her eyes back to the girl. She was growing more frazzled as the machine continued to make noise. As cute and funny as this was, Santana couldn't bear to watch this girl suffer anymore. Plus, the sounds the machine was making were _super_ annoying. Santana laid her papers down on the counter and walked over to the malfunctioning copier.

The girl didn't even seem to notice that Santana was standing beside her. She was too busy frantically pressing every single button on the machine. Santana fought another giggle.

"Excuse me?"

When there was still no response, Santana gently laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. The girl nearly jumped out of her skin at the contact.

"Oh my god!" she screamed. She held her hand over her heart and her chest was slightly heaving. "That really scared me."

"Sorry," Santana said, smiling for the first time today. "It just seemed like you could use some help."

"Oh." The girl looked back at the machine, seeming to suddenly remember what she had been doing.

Santana stepped closer to the machine. She glanced at the screen and looked at the tray from which the papers had been printing. She could see a little piece of the yellow paper crumpled inside of the printer.

"Oh, I think the paper just got jammed."

"Oh, good," the girl said, looking relieved. "That's easy to fix then, right?"

"Yeah, I can just try to pull it out."

Santana went to work trying to remove the crumpled paper from the printer. It was no easy task since so much of it was stuck in the printer.

"Here we go," Santana said as she got the last bit of the paper out.

"Thanks so much!" the girl chirped. But Santana was too busy reading the paper to even hear her.

It was a flyer for the "Cookies & Milk" event that the LGBT community on campus put on every month. Santana's eyes darted to the printer tray. There were already about 50 copies of the flyer laying there.

"Have you heard of it?"

"Huh?" Santana was brought out of her head by the sound of the girl's voice.

The girl's bright smile transformed into a smirk as she began to speak again. "Have you ever heard of 'Cookies & Milk'?"

"Oh, uh…," Santana was feeling nervous all of a sudden. "Yeah, I've heard of it."

"Cool," the girl said with a smile and a small nod. "You should come. It's next Monday at 10 P.M."

"Oh…," Santana looked down at the paper and shook her head a little before looking back up at the girl.

"Come on!" the girl giggled as she tilted her head to the side. "It'll be fun; it's always fun!"

Santana looked back down at the paper, fingering the edges instead of saying anything.

"Besides," the girl continued. "It's a really great way to meet girls."

Santana's head snapped up at this. "What makes you think I want to meet girls?" Her tone was a bit harsher than she wanted it to be. She found herself wanting to be casual and cool in front of this girl.

The girl's smile fell at Santana's outburst. "Oh, sorry! I just assumed with the way you were looking at the flyer. Do you not—Are you not…" the girl trailed off, seemingly not knowing what to say.

Santana sighed and rolled her eyes at herself. "No, I mean… I _do_ like girls."

"Oh, okay," the girl said, her face screwing up a bit in confusion. "Then… Do you already have a girlfriend or something?"

For some reason this question made Santana even more nervous. "No. It's just… I don't know. I'm not really in the LGBT scene, if you know what I mean."

"Oh," the girl drawled out, clearly not knowing what Santana meant. "Well, you should still come! It's really low-key. I think you'd enjoy it."

Santana let out a small laugh. She couldn't believe this girl felt like she knew what Santana would enjoy after speaking to her for less than 10 minutes. "I'll think about it," she said after a moment.

"Cool!" That bright, animated smile was back on the girl's face. "Keep that flyer so you remember where it's at."

"Okay," Santana said as she started to turn around. "Maybe I'll see you there."

The girl flashed another bright smile in response.

* * *

Santana shook her head out a little when she made it back to the fax machine. _What was that?_ she thought. She had never before felt so timid and shy when talking to another person. Anyway, much like Louis, she'd probably never see this girl again. She certainly was not planning to go to "Cookies & Milk". Santana punched her mom's fax number into the machine. As she sent the first sheet off, she heard the subtle sound of approaching footsteps. She looked up to find the girl, still flashing a megawatt smile, walking her way. She carried the flyers in an open-faced box in her hands.

"Hello, again," she said once she reached Santana's side.

"Hi," Santana replied with a smile. She was a bit confused about what this girl wanted.

"So," the girl drawled out as she leaned her side against the counter. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Uhhh…" Santana managed to get out, her eyes almost comically wide. Was this girl asking her on a date?

The girl giggled, looking down at the counter briefly before finding Santana's eyes. "I just figured I could take you out for a drink. You know, to thank you for helping me out with the copier. Besides, no girl should be without plans on Valentine's Day."

Santana was speechless for the first time in her life.

"Just a drink; I promise," the girl said, holding her pinky finger out. "No funny business."

Santana laughed at that. Who even said "funny business" anymore? She glanced down to the girl's pinky and then into her eyes. Santana could tell she was being honest. This was a no pressure invitation, even if it was a Valentine's Day date. Santana gave a small nod as she linked her pinky with the girl's outreached one.

"Awesome!" the girl exclaimed as she bounced on her toes. She grabbed a pen from off the counter and wrote her number on the back of the crumbled yellow flyer. "Here's my number. Text me your address and I'll pick you up at 8?"

Santana nodded, still unable to speak.

"I'll see you then!" the girl said with a wink.

"Mhm," Santana managed to get out with a tight smile. She found herself mesmerized watching the girl walk away. How could this girl make an oversized light pink sweater covered in little white hearts look so cute? It was only as she watched her walk away that Santana remembered that she didn't know the girl's name. She ran to catch up with her before she left the store.

"Hey," she breathed out as she gently grabbed the girl's arm. "What's your name?"

The girl smiled—again. Her eyes flitted from Santana's eyes to her lips and back up again. "Brittany," she said. "What's yours?"

"Santana," she said as she released the girl's arm.

"See you tonight, Santana," Brittany said before she started walking again.

Santana nodded, mostly to herself, as she watched Brittany leave the store. Boy was she in trouble.

* * *

**Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Reviews are much appreciated! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm so, so sorry for the delay! I'm just been insanely busy. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up faster. Happy Reading! :)**

* * *

Santana was a nervous wreck for the rest of the day.

She found herself thinking about Brittany and what she should wear on this no pressure date throughout all of her classes. Should she wear something fancy? People usually dress up when they go out on Valentine's Day, but this was different. Santana and this girl were not a couple, which made it decidedly unlike other Valentine's Day outings.

When she finally decided what she would wear—a simple red dress that accentuated her boobs and showed "just enough thigh", as her mother would say—Santana began to worry about her make-up. She had been serious about her make-up since the first day she was allowed to wear it. She never left the house without a perfectly done up face. So, unsurprisingly, she spent several hours wondering whether or not it was appropriate to wear red lipstick on a no pressure date.

It took her until halfway through her 3rd class of the day to settle on wearing her favorite red lipstick. After all, it wasn't like red lipstick added pressure to a date. Plus, red lipstick always gave her more confidence. Not that she needed it. Not usually, at least. But this girl was throwing her. She couldn't fight her desire to make a good impression on this date.

* * *

As she walked back to her dorm after her classes, Santana thought about what Brittany meant when she promised "no funny business". She wondered if Brittany had only said that to encourage her to agree to come. Maybe she just wanted to do something to thank Santana for helping her. Or maybe she just felt bad for Santana because she was without a date on Valentine's Day. Santana shuddered at the idea that this could be a pity date. She decided she'd have to find a way to casually ask Brittany herself tonight.

Santana gave a slight nod and smirk to no one in particular when she realized she finally had everything planned out. She was pulling out her phone to text Brittany her address when it started ringing in her hand. A part of her hoped it was Brittany calling, even though she knew that would be impossible; Brittany didn't even have her number yet. Santana tried to slow her heart down as she looked at her phone screen. It was her mother. She let out a heavy sigh as she slid her finger across the screen to answer the call.

"Hi, Mom," she said, trying—and failing—to conceal her annoyance.

Her mother had developed a really good habit of calling when Santana didn't want to speak to her. And now was definitely one of those times. Santana needed to be thinking about her date. Or Brittany's beautiful blue eyes. Or her radiant smile. She didn't have time to speak to her mother, who would undoubtedly say something mean under the pretense of helping.

"Hey, baby. Thanks for faxing me those files earlier. I hope it wasn't too difficult."

Santana sighed before replying, "Why would it have been hard? I literally just had to put some papers in a machine and punch in a few numbers. It wasn't brain surgery." She hated that she was feeling so defensive already, but her mother really knew how to bring it out of her. It was as though she still thought Santana had the capability of a 5-year-old.

"Well, okay," her mother replied.

"What were those papers even for?"

"Oh, just school stuff. Nothing you need to worry about." Santana rolled her eyes in response. Here she was, an honest-to-god complete adult by law, and her mother _still_ insisted on keeping things from her; even things that had to do with her own life.

"So what's going on with you?" her mother continued. Santana hated this part of the conversation most. It was the part where her mother insulted everything that was going on—or not going on—in her life.

"Not much really. Just got out of class and now I'm walking back to my dorm. You?"

"Do you have a date tonight?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "Nope," she answered, attempting to cut the conversation short.

Technically she _was_ going on a date tonight, but the last thing she wanted to do was talk about her love life with her mother. Besides, she didn't even know if tonight counted as a real date. And even if it did, her mother probably wouldn't want to hear about it.

Santana had come out to her the summer before she left for college, but it was as if her mother hadn't even heard her. In fact, Santana's mother had ignored Santana's sexuality so well that Santana sometimes wondered if she had dreamed her coming out speech. A part of Santana wished she had told her mother that she had a date with a girl tonight—just to see her reaction. But it was too late now.

"Hm, that's too bad," her mother said. "If you don't find somebody soon, you'll end up a spinster."

"Sure. Okay, Mom, great talk, but I gotta go."

"Alright, dear," her mother replied, a hint of skepticism in her voice. "I'll talk to you soon."

"Yeah. Bye!"

Santana released a breath of relief as she ended the call. She was glad that was over with. Now she could focus on tonight. She took a deep breath in as she scrolled to Brittany's name on her contact list. Santana had wanted to text Brittany her address as soon as she left the FedEx shop. Realizing that that might seem a bit too eager, Santana decided to wait a few hours before sending the text. But now that it was time to send the text, she had no idea what to say.

Should she just send the address with no other message? No. That might make it seem like she didn't care about the date. Maybe she could say she was looking forward to seeing Brittany tonight. Should she include a smiley face? A winky face? Should she just say "hey" and let a conversation develop from there?

Santana rolled her eyes at herself. This shouldn't be that difficult. Brittany just needed to know where to pick her up. She selected Brittany's name and began typing into the text box. She took another deep breath and pretended that she was just having a normal conversation with a normal girl who wasn't unbelievable attractive. The message read, _Hey Brittany :) __ I live in Moresby Hall. See you tonight! _After looking the message over several times, Santana finally closed her eyes and hit send.

When Santana looked up from her phone, she noticed that she was almost at her dorm. She had been so distracted with texting Brittany that she'd blocked out a whole five minutes of her walk. Santana was about to slip her phone back into her bag when it buzzed in her hand, alerting her to a new text. It was from Brittany. A wave of excitement passed through Santana's body, and she could hear her heart beating in her ears. She opened the text with a shaky finger. It read, _Hey! We actually live pretty close to each other! I'll pick you up at 8 sharp :)_

Santana felt a flutter in her stomach as she read the text over. She didn't stop reading it until she walked straight into another student.

* * *

Santana stood on her stool looking down at the outfit that was laid out on the bed. The outfit had seemed so great in her head, but now that she was looking at it, she wasn't so sure. Her focus was broken by the sound of a key turning in the door handle. Chelsea came bumbling into the room, her cheeks rosy from the cold.

"Hey!" she greeted with a bright smile.

"Hey," Santana replied, looking back towards her outfit.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Trying to decide what to wear tonight. Do you think this dress is right?"

Chelsea walked over to Santana's side of the room. She was intrigued; Santana had never asked her opinion on anything. In fact, she was always telling Chelsea _her_ opinions—unsolicited.

"Well, I don't even know where you're going."

"Right," Santana said, shaking her head at herself. "I have a date tonight."

Chelsea's eyes widened as she gasped. "You didn't tell me you were dating someone! You know, that's the kind of thing a roommate should kn-"

"That's because we're _not_ dating," Santana interrupted.

Chelsea's eyes narrowed in confusion. "You mean you're going on a _first_ date on _Valentine's Day_? That's a lot of pressure, isn't it?"

Santana rolled her eyes. Chelsea's old-school attitude still caught Santana off guard after all this time. "No, it's not. It's not even a date-date. It's a friend-date. Or at least I think it is. I don't know." Santana sighed and looked back at the outfit laid out on her bed. "So, is this okay?"

Chelsea was silent for a few moments before she gasped out a laugh. "Wait, _what_? What is going on? Tell me the whole story from before she asked you out.

"What makes you think _she_ asked _me_ out?" Santana scoffed.

"Oh _please_, Santana," Chelsea said with a playful roll of her eyes. In all the time I've known you you've never _once_ talked about liking a girl, let alone asking one out."

Santana wished she could think of a witty reply, but she was too stressed and Chelsea was right anyways. She never talked to her friends about her crushes. She reasoned that it was only because her crushes were never serious, which was true. But this? Brittany? This was serious. And they hadn't even known each other for 24 hours yet.

"Ugh, whatever," Santana said, rolling her eyes. "I helped her fix a paper jam this morning, so she offered to take me out for drinks tonight. To thank me or something."

"Anddd?"

"'Anddd', what? Can you just tell me if this outfit is okay?" Santana said growing more and more agitated as Chelsea asked more questions.

"Well does she like girls? Does she know that _you _like girls?"

"The paper that was jammed was a flyer for 'Cookies & Milk', so yeah. Just help me, Chel! I don't have a lot of time."

"Okay, okay," Chelsea said as she began to look the dress over. "Yeah, this is a good choice. It shows that you're trying, but not too hard, you know? Wear black tights and I'll let you borrow those boots you made me buy." Santana smiled. She really did love those boots. In fact, she probably wore them more than Chelsea did.

"If she's just taking you out as a friend, she'll appreciate your fashion sense. But if she kisses you at the end of night, she'll have something nice and soft to run her fingers along."

"Chelsea!" Santana nearly screamed, her eyes bugging out.

Chelsea held her hands up in front of her and backed away in mock defense. "Geez, I was just messing around!"

Santana reached for the single throw pillow on her bed (her mother had insisted on it) and sent it flying towards Chelsea.

Chelsea dodged the pillow as she broke into laughter. "What, no 'wanky'? This girl must really be something."

For the first time, Santana wished she had another throw pillow, if only so she could launch at Chelsea's head.

* * *

Santana threw Chelsea's eyeliner on her bed (she had freaked out when she remembered that her own eyeliner had broken this morning) and glanced at the time on clock. 7:45. Her stomach fluttered. Brittany would be here soon. Santana examined herself in the full-length mirror for the 15th time that night. The outfit really was perfect. Santana wondered what Brittany would be wearing. She quickly brainstormed a plausible reason for her being so dressed up just in case Brittany showed up in jeans and an old t-shirt.

Santana examined herself in the mirror one last time before she headed back over to her bed. She was trying to fit her lipstick and money into her purse when she heard a light knock on the door. Thinking it was Chelsea, Santana ran over to open the door.

"Forget your key, scatterbrain?" she asked as she pulled the door open. Santana's face froze as she looked up at the girl smiling at her. It wasn't Chelsea at all.

It was Brittany.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! :)**


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